I still haven't figured out where I come down on this issue, but I appreciate his analysis. Refreshing to hear somebody struggle with the complexities of the issue rather than just towing the party line (in either direction).

His recent podcast on the state of the Union is probably the most important and succinct thing an outdoorsman should listen to this year. Phenomenally well spoken advocate for hunting, fishing and the outdoors

At the end of the day, I don't think many people will look back 30 years from now and say "geeze, not mining that piece of ground was sure a mistake." I'm not naive to think that the stuff I buy magically appears out of nothing, but I would rather see commodity prices increase then to see new mines or other non-renewable extraction from land. If that means making it a monument, then sure. We can always go back in the future and dig it up but we can't ever put it back once its all torn up and leased out.

At the end of the day, I don't think many people will look back 30 years from now and say "geeze, not mining that piece of ground was sure a mistake." I'm not naive to think that the stuff I buy magically appears out of nothing, but I would rather see commodity prices increase then to see new mines or other non-renewable extraction from land. If that means making it a monument, then sure. We can always go back in the future and dig it up but we can't ever put it back once its all torn up and leased out.

Coal mining in the US has been in a nose dive, and not because of regulation. It is because of a lack of a domestic market.

NG plants now produce as many MW's as does coal, and the fact that the cost of wholesale power is at a 1/4 century low indicates that production is not falling behind demand. Coal plants are very expensive to maintain, much more than a modern simple- or combined cycle NG turbine plant.https://www.wsj.com/articles/electricity-prices-plummet-as-gas-wind-gain-traction-and-demand-stalls-1512043200

I think there is a lot of hysteria about these lands removed from National Monument inclusion being turned into a mine and ruined forever. Anyone that thinks you can just apply to open a mine, drill for gas or log some USFS or BLM land should try it and see how well that goes. There are a lot of protections afforded these lands without the National Monument status.

What's more I think it is a perversion of the law to declare large landscapes National Monuments even if it has been a practice used for more then a lifetime. If there is reason to further protect this land let an act either converting it to Wilderness or National Park be passed by Congressional action. The public might have a little input then. Instead these designations seem too often to be a unilateral legacy act by a President in the waning days of his tenure.

I always advocate for a more collaborative approach for issues like this. Obama should not have used the Antiquities act to protect the habitat, but that doesn't mean it should not be protected. As painful as the process is, a collaborative effort would have saved time and energy with all the fighting.

His recent podcast on the state of the Union is probably the most important and succinct thing an outdoorsman should listen to this year. Phenomenally well spoken advocate for hunting, fishing and the outdoors

I completely agree. It is extremely informational. Everyone needs to listen to it.